West Philly woman killed in a Montco crash was a dedicated, loving mother, her family said

Latoya Handy-Hunter was, first and foremost, a dedicated mother. Not just to her own children, but to those of people close to her, her family said Monday.

That devotion prompted her on Dec. 30 to bring one longtime friend’s kids to their mother’s gravesite at Merion Memorial Park in Bala Cynwyd. But what should have been a solemn day of remembrance on her late friend’s birthday turned into a tragedy.

Handy-Hunter, 36, was struck and killed by a driver as she was walking out of the cemetery with her friend’s children. The West Philadelphia resident was five months pregnant with her son Tatum. Medics rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she and her son were pronounced dead, according to Lower Merion Police, who identified Handy-Hunter early Monday.

The driver, whose name was not provided by police, also struck two parked cars and four other pedestrians in the crash, police said. The incident remains under investigation, and no charges had been filed as of Monday.

Handy-Hunter’s sister Darneesha Handy said the wound from the loss is still raw, especially after laying her to rest Saturday after a memorial service.

“This is only day one for me. This is a lifetime I have to go through,” Handy said. “Without Latoya, there’s nothing.”

Handy said her older sister was her best friend, someone with a heart of gold that helped hold her up through difficult times. When Handy lost her husband in August, her sister was her “backbone,” she said, reassuring her and keeping her stable.

Handy-Hunter worked hard to provide a good life for her children and stepchildren, making sure her oldest daughter, 19, took her education seriously and enrolled in college. Handy said it’s up to her and her family to keep her sister’s legacy alive.

“We have to keep them on the right track, the right path,” she said. “We have to do what my sister would want them to do.”

But the family’s top priority, Handy said, is finding accountability for the death of her sister, in what she called a senseless tragedy.

”I just want justice for my sister, and I want the truth,” she said.